Game of the Year: Push Square Readers' Top 10 PS5, PS4 Games of 2022

GT7 and Stray definitely deserve to be in the top 10 no ifs or buts about it

Glad to see A Plague Tale made it on the list.

Only ones missing for me are the two Ninja Turtles games... Shredder's Revenge and Cowabunga Collection. Pretty niche games though.

What was the original list of 50 games?

Ragnarok and Horizon are both in my backlog… Elden Ring is my GOTY.
But wow, we are all spoiled for amazing games to play in 2023!

Surprised GT7 isn’t 3rd and HZFW beat out Elden Ring. But fair enough all the same.
For me GT7 is my personal GOTY, followed closely by Elden Ring and GOW Ragnarok (couldn’t decide between them) with HZFW at 4 or 5.
By the way if I hadn’t played the LoU Part 1. It would be number 1 game of 2022. Even beating the mighty GT7.

@KAIRU stray was a great game? I don’t understand why you don’t think it belongs in the top 10 but GT7 does?

Horizon over Elden Ring? 🤣🤣🤣 no.

The fact the Uncharted remaster collection and The Last of Us remaster make this list just show the level of fanboy this site has with its community, i get we're all PS fans but come on haha.

Hm. I may have to give Stray another chance. I found it so overwhelmingly boring that I literally was falling asleep the 2 times I was playing it.

@WallyWest Readers as a whole voted that they enjoyed Horizon more - all the laughing emojis in the world won't change that.

@WallyWest I guess many would have played them for the first time this year and those releases were proper solid, especially TLOU pt.1. I don't think it's necessarily 'fanboyism' or anything that drives these things. They're just great games.

@WallyWest Can't speak to the collection - but TLOU remaster got Digital Foundry's best 2022 graphics #2 spot. Visually it's an impressive remaster and the game itself always was a top-tier story.
And on your fanboy salt spray - this is a playstation site.. what were you expecting? Xbox games??

@WallyWest upset that people have differing options than you? Then calls others “fanboys” because of this fact. Grow up man! Not everyone thinks exactly the way you think. If you’re old enough to type full sentences on the Internet you should already know this!

That's a decent looking top 5 (and 10). I am happy to see GT7 make #5 as early releasing games tend to get a little forgotten by the end of the year. And despite losing out on TGA stuff, it's nice to see the large fanbase of Horizon in public votes considering it's early release too.

Ragnarok, Elden Ring, Horizon, and Plague Tale and there are still people who are disappointed in the games released this year. Just goes to show that gamers all like different games and just because you think something is great doesn’t mean the collective will agree.

My favourite for 2022 was Ghostwire Tokyo. I didn't like the first Horizon, so i haven't bothered with the 2nd. Will get around to GoWR at some point

Unsurprisingly, the fabulous God of War Ragnarok takes both the staff and the readers top honour for 2022. And thoroughly deserved it is too! I’m also pleased to see Gran Turismo 7 recognised by my fellow readers!

@WallyWest Aren’t every single one of those games critically acclaimed? Were they not re-released in some form in 2022?
Didn’t even make the top 5 & both those games combined made up 6% of the votes.

Personally 2022 was a dry year. Delays after delays. It only made sense that people went back to the things they know. Out of the top 10 I only played 2 games GOW:R & Elden Ring & neither was my GOTY (Crisis Core), because the game that wins isn’t necessarily the best game, but the one you enjoyed the most.

@WallyWest There's a reason why any media or sites that focus on a single platform like this one, aren't eligible for the GOTY and Reader's Choice tracking websites that tally all awards lol

In years time people will look back at elden ring and say: 'we rated THIS so highly? Assets are reused all over the place (wait this crypt again? Didnt i finish this ten times already?) , the camera kills you more than enemies do, the story while playing is non existent, the end bosses are balanced laughily bad (good luck with a melee build and the last boss decides to teleport constantly). We must have been high'.

Can't say I disagree with the list. Congrats to God of War Ragnarok for taking top honors, and Congrats to Elden Ring for making video games the least fun thing to talk about in 2022.

I approve number 1.god of g.o.a.t. 🐐 👑.god of war ragnarok is the best games of the year.word up son

The more people I see crying about Elden Ring not being #1 the more I want to play it. Definitely will have to keep my expectations in check though as the hype machine can be a bit OTT, I loved Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden west. Looking forward to more great games in 2023. It helps to play a variety of genres and Indies as well as AAA to keep things fresh!

@somnambulance people just have different taste. The top three are my top three and in the exact same order. I got the plat for all three of them and loved all three very much it doesn’t matter which one I liked more when they are all so good and that’s all that matters

Elden Ring may be excellent but it doesn’t appeal to everyone. I think people just voted for what they played (and liked). But seriously, more of ya’ll need to check out Ghostwire Tokyo because it’s really fun. It reminded me a lot of the early inFamous games but with a supernatural twist. Just wandering the deserted streets with the rain falling was so eerie and tense. Not to mention the abandoned hospital and residential buildings to explore. Amazing atmosphere from start to finish. Don’t know why it’s been so slept on.

I prefer the countdown top 10 list cause at least it had trails from zero at number 4. This one is just sad

Horizon Forbidden West at 2nd? No way, sorry. Can you tell the bias towards the exclusives in this site?

Frankly I'm not even sure I'll return to Forbidden West once the DLC is released. Enjoyed it a bit, completed the Story and a fair share of the side quests, but I think I got my fill of it, not really looking to come back any time soon.

I love that people call Stray overrated just because they didn't like it as much as some others. Doesn't stop the fact that a big old bunch of people absolutely loved it, therefore it's rated exactly where it should be, especially as this is a public vote 😽😽😽

Having played 6 of the 10 games on this list i cant say i dissagree with the placement of the ones i played.

As a huge lover of souls games, i really did not enjoy Elden Ring. Ive got the platinum for Demon souls, Bloodborne and sekiro, havnt got round to dark souls yet but will eventually, but i could barely find the want to go back to ER. I found the game to be way to big. The moment the game lost me was on discovering the "underworld" i was already having a bit of fatigue and upon discovering so much more area to uncover i just put it to one side. Call me old fashioned but give me the linear feel of the classics over the open world of elden ring. But hey thats just me.

GoW:R though..what a game. A feast for the eyes, mind and soul. Gave me access to a full spectrum of emotions whilst playing. The growth of Kratos was a fantastic arc to uncover, the side quests flesh out back stories for side characters so all felt needed, and the game was just pure fun from start to finish. The only exception to this was the Crater area, i didnt need a new massive area to open up in the late game but still enjoyed getting the plat all the same.

And unlike a lot of people here, i really Enjoyed HFW. Even played through on the hardest setting on NG+ to wrap up the additional trophies just to give me the excuse to keep playing.

All in though, what a great year for gaming, and next year looks even better. Cant wait to get stuck in

Don't get people complaining about Horizon Forbidden West beating Elden Ring. For me I don't care for FromSoftware games in general. Have not played it and have no interest in playing it. So why would I vote for it? Doesn't change the fact that other people love it.

Some people like brutally hard games, some don't. I don't see the problem with Elden Ring ranking lower than GoW Ragnarok and HFW.

Even though Elden Ring is easily my favorite game of the year it does make sense on this website for God of War and Horizon to be ahead. People here are Playstation fans and like their first party titles, that's why they have the console.
It had nothing to do with being a fanboy and more to do with the tastes aligning with what the console has to offer.

I love the fact many are laughing at elden ring being third but reality is many bought it but it is still a niche game, majority of players would of played for a bit and then just left, Horizon has a huge following and it maynot vethe break out game like elden ring but it is a solid well balanced good story game. Is ticks alot more boxes for the majority than the few elden ring ticks. Even if those ticks are bigger in scope.

An exceedingly predictable list.

@Pat_trick and the fact push square is a playstation website hahahaha 95% who come here are playstation fans

Onward to 2023 then! Forspoken and dead space are out in less than a month and then it is relentless, with games still to be added.

I can't handle it...

Very surprising!

Some people are real salty that some games that they didn't like appear on the list. Not a good look people, not a good look at all.

Good lord are people still finding it hard to move on? I think ragnarok deserved the top slot. So HFW beat elden ring? No surprise really as elden ring is a niche game. As much as i love elden ring games such as ragnarok and HFW are so much more accessible to gamers of all ages and from softs games are really games that will challenge your skills as a gamer.@LN78 marillion are a great band. Fugazi,script for a jesters tear,market place heros etc are all brilliant albums..shame on you 🤣

Well I’m bored. Elden Ring was easily game of the year. Certainly beats games trying to be movies….

@Nexozi Because Horizon is more of the same in a very boring way. The story is an ordeal or boringness.

My personal top 3 are Ragnarok, Horizon:FW and Elden Ring my top game. But the real winners are the Gamers! 😬

I'm kind surprised to see Cult of the Lamb not on the list. I thought it would have at least broke the Top 10.

Stray is not a good game. I really don’t get it. Is it just because it has a cat in it? The gameplay is terrible.

Unsurprising that there is so much butthurt in these responses. Different strokes for different folks - your fav game - Elden Ring for example - didn't get above Horizon? Guess a bunch of other people didn't agree with you. And that's just fine so put a band-aid on your butt and move on.

@LN78 lmao 👍

GOW (2018) and Ragnarok combine to make the greatest work of art in gaming and cinema history.

@Arnna Opinions, opinions everywhere! Niche vs mass appeal that's all there is too it.

@Party_Cannon This is it 100%, ppl just need to read ur comment. At the end of the day it makes no difference to anyone's life.

@somnambulance My first was Bloodborne and I loved it, setting was right up my street. Enjoyed Demon Souls also and I have the Dark Souls trilogy but only put about 40 hours into the first one. Bought Elden Ring in the summer but moved house so it ended up in the backlog along with the souls trilogy.

Basically I'm a fan of Fromsoftware's output but at the same time also enjoy Sony's first party games and couldn't care less where they place on a list. Forbidden West and Ragnarok are also special and I look forward to discovering the world of Elden Ring, to see how great it is!

@AhmadSumadi Dude only a PS centric site would have a remaster of Uncharted in the top 10, in fact it says a lot that a remastered collection is even considered the best of 2022.

@get2sammyb Sure its just the list reads like a list made a PS fanboy, all the major 1st party games are there that includes 2 remasters and a underwhelming greedy racer.

@WallyWest in all fairness there was not a lot of premium grade games to choose from this year. Yeah there were some really good games but they were not up to the standard of the ones on the list.. i really enjoyed gotham knights,evil west,chorus and pga 2k23 but they just were not up to the quality of the top dogs.

@Deadlyblack Likewise. Cult of The Lamb was in my top 3, for sure.

playstation had much better GoTY than what’s voted and considered now . this era doesn’t even compare to the PS3 , don’t even need to mention ps2 . no matter how cinematic a game is , it’s supposed to be a game .

@AgentGuapo a bunch of casuals that think what makes a game good is making it as far from an actual video game as possible

I think people take award stuff too seriously in general. People should be happy their favorites made the top 10- not bashing other games because theirs isn’t #1. Being on any top 10 list is great considering how many good games comes out every single year. Thanks guys for keeping the fans involved and letting us vote!

@WallyWest I wonder why people on a PlayStation site like PlayStation games. It's a complete mystery.......

@Party_Cannon and that's just fine so put a band-aid on your butt and move on genuinely made me chuckle a bit that one. If I could give you a star or something for comment of the month I would. Push Square could award comment of the month with a £5 or £10 PS wallet top up to whoever has the most stars given that month. Like the star could be right next to the heart, just a weird thought I dunno

Horizon first or second perfect

I played a lot of these, and they are all worthy. What a great year for gaming this was, even with a bunch of delays.

I am playing GOWR right now, and I can’t believe how good it is. I liked the 2018 version, but I actually found it a tad overrated. Everything is so improved in the sequel-story, combat, visuals. Wow.

Unless something goes horribly wrong in the Endgame, Ragnarok is absolutely my game of the year.

Great order for top 3 and almost everything that I actually played is in the order I voted, except for GT7, that is not anywhere near top ten for me and such a disappointment. Felt like a predatory slot machine.

In my opinion just liken with Cyberpunk in the staff list, TLOU and uncharted shouldn't even be on here.

@Northern_munkey Granted my top 10 list has some Switch games but i could easily think of 10 or more games released on PS in 2022 that are more worthy then Uncharted. Like ok sure i can understand TLoUP1 getting in, as remasters/remakes go its pretty fantastic with PS5 worthy visuals but Uncharted? Nearly everything that offered could have been giving in a free patch for the PS4 versions, like seriously compare that pretty so so remaster to The Witcher 3 one a free remaster and its clear how thrown together and greedy the Uncharted one is.

@Nexozi I love PS games but it doesn't mean i'm giving every 1st party release blind love and thinking a so so remaster of a PS4 game is one of the best of 2022 in gaming.

Overall i don't really care though i just made 2 comments in jest and it led to 10+ replies that cared more about what i said then i did.

HFW is exactly where it should be

@WallyWest I don't like remakes or remasters, especially ones of recent games that don't need them. The results however can't be changed and everyone gets something different out of each game. Calling everyone that voted fanboys (there could also be fangirls) for liking games you don't will usually get responses. Push square could have just done this instead:

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2022/12/here-are-the-top-10-xbox-games-of-2022-according-to-metacritic

They didn't though, they did a team top 10, community top 10 and they all gave us their top 5s.

@LN78 Or Cops (the TV show), the bachelor(ette), or the rich demented housewives of some obscure celebrity. People love to watch a train wreck...

I only played Stray from that list, and really liked it. The one issue I had was those little creatures you had to run from or shake off - it just didn’t fit with the rest of the game (which I found quite relaxing)

But then I’ve got little time nowadays to game, so I prefer something short, reasonably easy, and fun

I wonder if gowr had launched in February and hfw launched in November if the results would have been changed? It all smacks of recency bias.

Though I'd put gt7 above both in that is a massive comeback for a series that was kinda in the toilet for a generation and is just fun to play in it's "carpg" format.

Also everyone that did not vote stray #1, I'm going to report you for site abuse.

@WallyWest yes

@Gamer_Guy lol yup @WallyWest is just salty. just goes to show the only vocal minority didn't like horizon.

@BrunnoGio excuses excuses like you refuse to believe people think differently than you. it's sad tbh

@ItsBritneyB_tch " I think people just voted for what they played (and liked). But seriously, more of ya’ll need to check out Ghostwire Tokyo because it’s really fun. It reminded me a lot of the early inFamous games but with a supernatural twist."

Yeah I don't like public votes. It mostly just shows what's popular, which is mostly just what's most marketed or has the biggest social media presence. The editorial award is more meaningful.

How "horror" it's ghost wire? I don't do horror. At all. But the infamous description has my interest piqued. Infamous is still my most favorite modern Sony series by a landslide.

@WallyWest I ❤️ democracy

@somnambulance
if you loved the first game there should be no concern about the second one considering it improves on literally everything. I can tell you with uttermost confidence it's far from a mixed bag. most games wish they had the user score and an 88 as a critic score. @Casco this is 100 percent voted by the fans and horizon is second place...no amount of saying no way this is joke or calling bias is gonna change that.

@Pat_trick your logic would have some ground to stand if elden ring was not available on playstation also

What a surprise the top 2 are playstation exclusives. Neither compare to elden ring. I don't even like the other souls games but elden ring is one of the greatest games of all time.

@bremkat35 boring game terrible long dialogue scenes, unlikeable characters just no

@NEStalgia you dont like public votes? The fact that the games in this top 10 have been voted for by people purchasing the games with their hard earned money tells me these games were deserving of being on that list regardless the order they appear in. Any game that hits the top of the charts has been voted for by the public as i doubt that the devs are buying millions of their own copys just to ensure the top status..recency bias? Is that even a thing?

@somnambulance dude what is a laugh is that everyone who likes Elden Ring more thinks everyone should like it more... you see? Its a poll and the majority liked Horizon more. So come over it.

@Northern_munkey Public votes are essentially pointless because it's not a comparison of a wide variety of titles against each other for any specific merit, it's merely a popularity contest if what most people played a.k.a what sold best or what has a current trending status in public awareness via social. Both are largely driven by marketing spending unless it's something that goes viral like stray or cult of the lamb. "Best games" simply becomes "games that more people happened to play than others". When considering the average gamer buys 2-3 games a year and is most likely to buy whatever is the most heavily marked, fomo, "popular seeming" thing or sequel to something they liked because. "Best game" means little more than "I played this." It's a meaningless ranking. At least with editorial lists there's some manner of comparison between games across genres and discussion at a level of awareness of what critical elements compare against other games, much more than 11000 random people voting for what they recently played and liked because everyone's playing it tells us.

Granted here at push we have Sammy's opinion governing editorial top 10 onthis. The same Sammy that thinks GaaS is the cats meow, and Taylor swift is awesome. If Sammy tells me Ragnarok is the goat I think I'll spin up Haze again instead 😂. But at least Sammy and staff are comparing against a breadth of games from many genres past and present and not just basimg it on "I played this popular thing because I'm not spending $70 on random things I don't already know I love".

Wake when the DICE awards roll....

Right recency bias is absolutely real. The idea is that's what's currently in people's minds, is fresh in memory and the newness has not worn off. The "honeymoon effect" making the new thing stand out simply because it's new. Would be interesting to see lists for top 10 PREVIOUS year for that reason.

Specifically with how compare the glowing hype in 2018 to the recent poll here how people felt about it. It's still well liked but far more grounded and critical now after time to digest it even here where bias is high. Now we relive the same with Ragnarok.

I'd say for popular votes extra or game pass games are more practical since people are comparing many more games. Then again on game pass everyone thinks high on life is amazing. I played it. It..... It's not amazing.... At all.... IDK gamers just have terrible taste. Ask Sammy...

@NEStalgia good lord thats a reply and a half..so i understand where you are coming from and where you are going too..however i still stand by what i said and that the games in this poll are voted for by the people who bought and played the games and probably not the gamers who thought that this game looks great and everybody else is saying its great so even though i've not played it i'll follow the herd and vote for it..i dont think this is how these polls work and it would be sad if they did. You dont like public polls but here you are reading the results from one and complaining about "recency bias." I dont understand why you feel the need to let everybody know how much you dislike reading about something you dislike? Its very odd...

@Northern_munkey to clarify, I don't mean people voting that haven't played it, though that does also happen. I just mean that most gamers don't actually play that many games per year, and are mostly going to buy whatever is most hyped/popular, so a top 10 list voted by players reflects mostly people voting for whatever hyped games they happened to play were rather than an actual thoughtful comparison against dozens of games that editorial lists can be based on. I E. The list is less about, among 40 games these were evaluated as the comparative best. It's about among 40 games these are the 10 the plurality of randoms bought because they were the most hyped to buy. They can't compare it against all the games they didn't play before voting linke the staff critics can.

It's like going to rock concert and asking what the top 10 records of the year are. Odds are the votes aren't going to include that amazing once in a generation fantastic genre redefining jazz album that came out 10 months ago when 10 forgettable overproduced, heavily played rock albums came out in the past 4 months

@NEStalgia fair enough..i like discussing things with you because it never gets heated to a point where the conversation descends into out right insults.we are not always going to agree but at least we can see it from each others views which gives a better understanding of what makes each other tick..

Decent list but I would have GT7 above Stray and unpacking definitely makes my top 10 (maybe 5) glad Sifu is in there too, really good year for gaming lets hope it continues into 2023!!

Elden Ring #3 while overhyped GoWR #1.... world is turning into darkness...

Makes sense this list does, Elden Ring is just another souls re-hash and tbf its gotta be getting a bit stale now, as for narrative driven games like HFW and GOWR it goes to show a good story will attract players, im yet to finish either but GOWR is stunning to play

Great List! Sonic Frontiers and Pokemon Scarlet/Violet fans shouldn't bring up Metacritic scores as an argument why Elden Ring should've place higher on a fan voted list though. Just saying.

I managed to get a PS5 just before Christmas, more for the future games and for media streaming as opposed to play the games up to now. I got GOW2 as a pack in and I like it as a good, solid game, but it hasn’t wowed me- it’s just more of the same from the last one. I guess any awards list can only be as relevant as the games released in that year.

@middyone Nah, i have no problem with other peoples opinions of what game they think it's best, not questioning the results. It was expected to have people vote for games that are exclusive to their platform of choice in a site focused in said platform lol, specially if the games are actually good.

@BrunnoGio what does that have to do with anything. who cares if it's exclusive

From the perspective of the hosts of the Waypoint podcast, this list is horrendous.

@NEStalgia This is very true....this list is sooo mainstream. Granted I have all of these games on my end of year list minus Gran Turismo 7, but I also have a top 40 games with a bunch of other quality games releases in the year. Also, why is TLoU Part 1 and Legacy of Thieves on here and not gems like Citizen Sleeper, Cult of the Lamb, Nobody Saves the World, Rollerdrome, The Quarry, Tunic, or even Dying Light 2 for you mainstream folks.

Introducing my end of list(s)

GOTY 2022
1. God of War: Ragnarök
2. Elden Ring
3. Horizon Forbidden West
4. Neon White
5. Citizen Sleeper
6. A Plague Tale: Requiem
7. Cult of the Lamb
8. Norco
9. Pentiment
10. Signalis
11. Nobody Saves the World
12. Dying Light 2
13. Sifu
14. Rollerdrome
15. Strange Horticulture
16. The Quarry
17. Tunic
18. Stray
19. Kirby and the Forgotten Land
20. Immortality
21. Iron Lung
22. Tinykin
23. Vampire Survivors
24. Olli Olli World
25. Ghostwire: Tokyo
26. Triangle Strategy
27. The Callisto Protocol
28. Splatoon 3
29. Bayonetta 3
30. Marvel SNAP
31. Card Shark
32. TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge
33. The Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me
34. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (campaign)
35. Cursed to Golf
36. FAR: Changing Tides
37. Poinpy
38. Mario Strikers Battle League
39. A Memoir Blue
40. Kirby’s Dream Buffet

DLC/Re-Released Titles
1. The Last of Us: Part I
2. Cuphead in The Delicious Last Course
3. The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
4. RE Village: Shadows of Rose
5. Bugsnax: The Isle of Bigsnax

2021 (or Earlier) Games Played in 2022 (aka GoTOY - Games of The Other Year)
1. Inscryption
2. TOEM

NOTE: Games played across PS5, Nintendo Switch, Steam for Mac, and Xbox Cloud Gaming via an iPhone